Fate of the Wild Dragon
by Andril
Summary: {Rewrite of Taming the Wild Dragon} Fairy Tail has a habit of beating their enemies, and then becoming friends with them. How will they contend with a Fire Dragonslayer that never joined as a child, but instead carved his own path as an independent mage? Natsu's destiny has always lain with Fairy Tail, but how will everyone's fate be changed by his past?
1. Chapter 1

**{A/N} For those of you who've read my stories before, this is a rewrite of my first story Taming the Wild Dragon. I haven't updated in about two years, and its disappointing, but I decided to forgo updating in favor of rewriting. When I go back to read the story I want to cringe about the cliche and poor writing that I put into it. It was the first story I ever wrote so I'm pretty proud of how much I wrote and how far I got, but I think that I've gotten better as a writer so I'm going to try rewriting it. The story revolves around the same concept, but slightly tweaked to make Natsu more than a one-dimensional character (Hopefully). The NatsuxErza pairing in the original story spawned from my supreme distaste for NaLu and the fact that I hate the shonen trope of stupid main characters that can do anything because of the power of friendship. The power of friendship is important, but it's not the end all be all of everything. Anyways, I haven't decided on the pairing for this story yet, but it'll come. I just have to let the characters develop as they will. I hope you enjoy this story, and I hope you review because every review is just more motivation to write and update.**

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Time passes and the winds of change blow across the land but fate always stays the same. Some fates are immutable but the path leading towards them is winding and every turn could lead down a different spiraling path. There are some that believe that for every path taken a new world is spawned, parallel universes where one different step can change the world by magnitudes greater than human comprehending. Grand thoughts such as these tumbled around the head of Natsu Dragneel as he bemoaned his own fate. One shrouded in a darkness not of his making, but one forced upon him by circumstance and quite possibly design. The main hall of the Eisenwald guild was not the place for such weighty thoughts though, and he was interrupted by a heavy hand clapping his shoulder, "Natsu. You know what we're doing tomorrow."

The Dragon Slayer glanced over his shoulder at Erigor, the de-facto guild leader and Ace of the Dark Guild he was hiding in. The man was perpetually shirtless to show off the intricate blue tattoo that twined along his chest and shoulders and wore tattered hakama pants, a crude imitation of the Shinigami he purported himself to be. Erigor's silver hair did nothing to distract from the insane gleam in his eye. Natsu roughly shrugged his current leaders hand from his shoulder, "You don't have to remind me. I know the plan."

The smile that spread over Erigor's face was anything but comforting, "You think too much Natsu. Once we've killed the local guild leaders, their guilds will be in such disarray that we'll be able to take control of the region. Once we're in control, even the council won't be able to stop us, and you can finally have your revenge."

Natsu stood up and stalked away without another word or a backwards glance. His rage a simmering ball of lead that lay heavy in his gut. He stormed through the halls of the guild to his room, a small one with barely enough space for a bed and a dresser. Fire involuntarily bloomed in his hand and when he clenched his fist it coated the closed appendage, and when he punched the wall it left a scorch mark in the middle of a spiderweb of cracks. Natsu glared at his fist before throwing himself down onto his bed and closing his eyes in an effort to get some a few hours of tossing and turning he was finally able to nod off.

His sleep was not restful though. Faces from his past invaded his dreams. The great scaled snout of his departed father and the scars that adorned it. A red tattoo and mad brown eyes under messy blue hair. Pouty red lips twisting between a smouldering smile and a cruel smirk. Luminescent amber eyes framed by dark purple hair that seemed almost black in flickering candlelight. Harsh feminine laughter echoed in his ears as he bolted upright.

The cold, sterile walls of his room provided little comfort from his troubled dreams.

"Damnit."

Natsu stood up and ran a hand through his messy pink hair, groaning, "Idiot. It's your own stupid fault."

Natsu's mistakes weighed heavily on him. Bitterness had driven him forward from the day his father abandoned him, and that was his first mistake. He'd let his father's abandonment of him poison his spirit, and it had only grown with time. When he'd reached the areas inhabited by humans after leaving the cave he'd grown up in he'd been crushed by his lack of knowledge. He didn't know many of the words people were speaking around him and he could barely read the signs for shops. He'd spent weeks loitering around alleys and backstreets just listening to people talk, trying to pick up more of the language. He'd watched as a tiny old man with a funny hat and a cool looking blue medallion with a silver cross had walked through town visiting different stands. The older man had looked at him, and looked like he'd perhaps liked to speak with Natsu, but the pink haired boy had turned and hurried away, already losing interest.

Months passed and Natsu finally had a handle on the language and culture of Fiore, and he could finally get to work on what he really wanted to do, learn his own magic. If Igneel didn't want him, then he didn't want Igneel's magic. He'd skulked around mage's guilds and even gone to a library or two to learn about what other kinds of magic there were. Eventually he'd decided to learn Maker Magic. He hadn't found anything specific about it, only the basics on how all Maker Magic worked. Natsu was going to make his own brand of Maker Magic, and using his bodies attunement to fire he created his **Flame Make** magic.

Natsu knew that he'd have to start working to earn money, and initially thought about joining a guild, but soon decided that he'd gotten by just fine on his own in the months after Igneel had left, and he was going to get along fine on his own as an Independent Mage. He started small at first, simple monster extermination quests to test out his new magic. As he tested and refined his new form of magic he began to take harder jobs, and slowly made a name for himself. Natsu Dragneel, the Living Flame. After a few years he'd been certified as an independent S-Class mage by the Magic Council and started taking requests from them. It was the last request he'd taken from them two years ago that had led to his diminished circumstances though.

"Enough with heavy thoughts."

With a sigh Natsu shook his head, internally embarrassed that he'd given in to the bad habit of talking to himself. He hurriedly dressed himself, a black waist wrap trimmed in gold over white knee length trousers with a black vest also trimmed in gold. He took the scale patterned scarf that was his only physical memento from Igneel and tied it around his waist so that it wouldn't get in his way. He grabbed his worn backpack and packed his belongings; two extra sets of cloths, a nest egg of 45,000 jewels he'd managed to save up, and a thick folder with all of the job posters he'd ever taken, right back to the first one. Finally, he grabbed a snow white strip of cloth and tied it around his forehead, the long tails hanging down to tickle his neck.

Natsu exited the room and made his way to the main hall. He was one of the first there, but it soon filled up. Dark mages murmured excitedly to each other and a nervous tension filled the air. Natsu sat off to the side with his arms folded, taking in the scene. The last to arrive was Erigor, and upon entering the entire hall quieted. He made his way purposefully to the front of the hall and shouted, "Now is the time! The time to take back our freedom from the legal guilds that decided we weren't worthy of having any. The time to show our power to the guild masters and crush them like the flies they are!"

A great cheer resounded throughout the hall and when Erigor turned to stride through the front doors of the guild the rest eagerly followed him. Natsu followed laconically, hitching his pack securely and not looking back at the grim building he knew he'd be seeing for the last time.

After a long overland trek they intercepted a train enroute to Oshibana station and forcefully disembarked the passengers. Erigor was in his element, shouting threats and shoving the terrified civilians around with a manic grin. The train was cleared in short order and the Eisenwald mages began to embark. Natsu grimaced, and waited until the last moment to get on. He was glad though, because he was able to see and overhear Erigor and Kageyama, the man who had retrieved Lullaby.

"What do you mean they saw you?"

"It was just a few Fairy flies. They don't even know what they saw."

Erigor scoffed, "You'd better be right, or it's your head."

Kageyama nodded nervously but didn't say anything else as he followed Erigor aboard the train. Natsu groaned, half at the thought of getting on the train and half at the fact that the plan was _already_ messed up, and then got on the train. He claimed a compartment for himself and locked it, pulling down the shade to give himself some privacy. Privacy to pass out as soon as the train started moving. The constant motion sickness from transportation was Just another thing to be bitter about.

Natsu awoke a few hours later to the sound of clashing swords and cries of pain, 'Are we fighting already? And nobody woke me up."

He groggily sat up and rubbed his head muttering, "Those bastards. They're always too hasty."

Natsu peered out the window and was surprised to see that the majority of Eisenwald was down for the count. Only a few were left and as he watched a red haired woman in silver armor hacked them down. It was the most elaborate piece of armor he'd ever seen. Plate armor covered her impressive chest but left her taut stomach bare and she had a long armored skirt as well as a headpiece with two small wings on either side, but the most impressive part of her armor were the wings made up of individual shining silver blades. He quirked an eyebrow, "Oh? This might be interesting."

Natsu quickly disembarked, stepping off the train and over a pile of unconscious dark mages. The redhead, who had turned away to talk to a blonde haired woman, seemed to sense him, and turned. She exclaimed in strong alto voice, "So, there was another one of you hiding on the train?"

Natsu grinned and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly while looking around, "Not hiding. Nobody woke me up from my nap though. So, did you beat Erigor? I don't see him here."

She shook her head with a grimace, "No. He fled, but our other team members are after him."

Natsu deflated, "Really? Well that's unfortunate. If you'd beaten Erigor I could have let you leave, but since he's still out there the plan is still in motion, and I owe Erigor a favor. So, I guess we fight."

The redhead pointed a sword at him with a grim smile, "I will defeat you quickly just like the rest of your guild."

Natsu cracked his neck, "Oh? I'm far above these fools in terms of strength. The only one in Eisenwald that could give me a workout is Erigor."

She seemed surprised, "I thought Erigor was the strongest mage in Eisenwald after the guild master was arrested."

Natsu shrugged, "I'm not actually a part of Eisenwald. Erigor has just been kind enough to provide me sanctuary and in return I lend him my power."

The woman stepped forward snarling, "That makes you even worse! You'll just sit by and let Erigor use Lullaby on this entire town!"

Natsu raised an eyebrow, "That's what he told you he was going to do? Oh no. His plan is much bigger than that. He's going to play the Demon Death Flute for the guild masters of this region."

For the first time the blonde spoke, exclaiming with shock, "He's going to kill all of the guild masters?"

"That's the plan."

The redhead was shaking with outrage as she stated bluntly, "And you're going to let him."

Natsu shrugged again, "I've no reason to stop him. With the guild masters gone the Magic Council will be too busy putting the guilds to rights to search for me. I'm just a guy trying to survive, and this is the best way I see to do it."

"Despicable."

With that one word the redhead charged him and an instant later a sword slashed through the space his head had been. Natsu rolled forward and did a front handspring, spinning around to kick away the armored fist that would have nailed him in the stomach. He sprang forward and put his hands together, calling out, " **Flame Make: Tyrfing!** "

A reddish white magic circle sprang to life and bright white flames surrounded his hand and quickly coalesced into a shining white sword that flickered like fire around the edges. With a dull thud the redheads sword slammed into his. She seemed surprised and muttered, "Flame Make?"

Natsu used her distraction to move her sword out of the way, grab her arm, and throw her back towards her friend. She did a flip and landed on her feet, not even breathing heavily. She grimaced, "There's only one mage I know of that uses Flame Make magic."

"Natsu Dragneel. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

The blonde squealed, "Natsu Dragneel? He's one of the most wanted criminals in Fiore!"

With a grimace Natsu replied, "That is also true."

He continued, "Since you know me, it's only polite to introduce yourselves."

The redhead, who'd never stopped pointing a sword at him, said brusquely, "I am Erza Scarlet."

The blonde followed a moment behind her in a breathy voice, "Lucy Heartfilia."

A smile slowly spread over Natsu's face, "I've never heard of Lucy Heartfilia, but everybody's heard of Titania Erza Scarlet. This might be even more fun than I thought. I haven't dueled someone as strong as you in… two years. "

Erza groaned in frustration, "I don't have time to fight you. I must stop Erigor before he can reach the guild masters!"

Natsu smirked, "It's too late for that. Even if you did defeat me you'd never catch up to him."

Lucy said swiftly, "You're not even part of Eisenwald! You shouldn't be helping them!"

The pink haired mage shrugged, "Normally I wouldn't, but like I said, I owe Erigor for giving me a place to hide."

Erza said stoutly, "Favors owed to evil men are not favors that should be repaid by those wishing to keep a clear conscience."

Natsu frowned and then spat, "Hunted men don't have the luxury of righteousness, Titania! The Magic Council would execute me on the spot if they found me!"

"Then you should not have committed the crime."

Natsu laughed bitterly, "Committed the crime? The only crime I committed was being young, stupid, and trusting the wrong person. I was betrayed by someone I trusted, and she set me up to take the fall for the destruction of that town."

Erza cocked her head, "So, you say you're innocent?"

"Of course I am!"

The point of her sword never wavered as she said baldly, "Then let us pass. If you are innocent then I have no quarrel with you."

She added on in a quieter voice, "And an innocent man would let us pass, to stop a great evil against more innocents."

Natsu gave her a hard look, "My own honor won't let you pass, but you have a point. Very well, a compromise. You have three moves to impress me. Impress me and I let you pass, if not, we fight here."

Erza nodded, and a visible aura of golden magical power began to surround her. A feral smile spread over Natsu's face as a similar red aura surrounded him. Both of them tensed. Erza slowly held out her other hand in preparation to requip and Natsu brought his hands together in front of him.

"Wait!"

Both of them were startled and glanced over at the blonde who was cowering behind Erza, "What?"

Lucy now had both of their attentions and said timidly, "Well, you said you wanted to fight Erza right? Why don't you let us stop Erigor, and then you and Erza can have a real fight."

Natsu looked mildly surprised, and then brought a hand up to rub his chin, "Hmm. Now there's an idea. If you're not good enough to beat Erigor it wouldn't be a fight for me anyways, and if you do beat him then I can avenge him by beating you. That's close enough for me."

Erza's jaw dropped, "What?!"

A smirk worked its way onto Natsu's face, "Well? Aren't you going to go after him?"

"You changed your mind in a very short amount of time."

Natsu shrugged, "It's not like I want to let Erigor kill the guild masters, but he did do me a big favor. I do however, want to fight you. So, I won't directly fight against him, nor will I aid him. The price for that though, is one full on fight with you, Titania."

After another hard look Erza sent her sword and armor back into her requip space, requipping into a plain blue skirt, black knee high boots, and a breastplate with a heart-kreuz emblem, "Very well. We must hurry then, if we're to catch Erigor."

"Lead on then."

She turned and strode quickly towards the outer parts of the station. Lucy and Natsu followed her, picking their way over unconscious dark mages. The trio walked through a few hallways before they reached a large entranceway. Waiting in the foyer were two more Fairy Tail members, along with a bound and gagged first was a dark haired man wearing black pants and a long white overcoat trimmed in blue. The second was a white haired woman in her late teens. She wore a dark purple leather halter top that stopped just short of her stomach and black leather shorts that stopped halfway down her thighs with thigh high black socks. Her hair was held back by a ponytail that left two long bangs to frame her face and one spike of hair curved down between her eyes.

She was the first to speak when Erza, Natsu, and Lucy arrived, "Who's the tagalong?"

Erza grunted, "Natsu Dragneel."

The white haired girl got a curious gleam in her eye, "Oh? The famous criminal? He's pretty sexy."

Erza scowled, "Enough, Mirajane. We've got more pressing issues right now. Erigor isn't going to broadcast Lullaby to the town. He's going to use it on the guild masters at their regional meeting!"

Mirajane gasped, "Where Master is? In Clover town?"

Erza nodded grimly, "Yes. And if he's made his escape we have to catch up to him quickly."

With a sigh Mirajane pointed at the howling wall of wind a short way off that blocked the large entrance, "We've been trying to get out for a while now, but nothing we do can break that barrier."

Natsu inspected the barrier and after a moment said, "Yep. That's Erigor's **Wind Wall.** "

Erza quickly asked, "Do you know how to counter it?"

With a laugh Natsu replied, "Nope. I use fire magic remember? If I made a big enough fire to suck all of the oxygen out of the air and break the **Wind Wall** everyone in the city would asphyxiate or burn to death. It's almost impossible to batter through as well, the wall itself is made up of millions of tiny blades of wind that will shred you to pieces if you try and pass through it."

Erza almost screamed in frustration, "Then what are we going to do!"

Lucy suddenly exclaimed, "I know! Remember that job you took me on Gray? Everlue had a golden key that I took from him and Virgo used Earth Magic!"

The man named Gray nodded, "Right, right. That creepy gorilla maid."

With a shiver Lucy said uneasily, "Yeah… But I have her key! If I can convince her to she might be able to dig under the wall!"

Mirajane and Erza both said at the same time, "Then hurry up and do it!"

At their shared declaration they both glared at each other before turning away in a huff. Lucy took their words as a command though and immediately drew a golden key from a loop on her belt and shouted, " **Open, Gate of the Maiden: Virgo!** "

A golden magic circle appeared in the middle of their group and with the chime of a bell a pink haired girl dressed in a maids outfit with chains wrapped around each wrist rose out of it, "You called. Princess."

Lucy pointed at the Celestial Spirit and shouted, "What! What happened to the gorilla maid?"

The Spirit quirked her head to the side and said in a bland voice, "You did not like that appearance, so I changed it to suit your preferences."

Lucy looked like she was about to question the spirit again when Natsu said, "Tick tock. Erigor is getting away."

The blonde nodded determinedly, "Right. Virgo, I know we don't have a contract yet but do you think you could help us out by digging a tunnel underneath this wall of wind?"

The Spirit nodded and said, "Of course."

She put her hands on the ground and in short order there was a large tunnel leading outside for them to escape through. All five of them clustered around it and Natsu grinned, "Well. Ladies first."

Mirajane gave him a scary smile, "You're not just saying that so you have a chance to ogle my butt are you?"

Erza frowned, "Regardless, I still don't trust him that much. He can go first and we'll follow."

"Drats, my master plan is foiled again."

With that he jumped into the hole but before he could get too far along it he heard from behind him, "Damn. I think I'm starting to like him."


	2. Chapter 2

The group emerged from the ground about 20 yards from the entrance of the station, and the huge wall of wind that still surrounded it. Natsu could barely hear himself think over the din, and barely made out when Mirajane shouted, "How are we going to catch up to Erigor?"

Erza didn't speak, but rather marched off towards a line of Magical Four Wheelers. Natsu wasn't really paying attention, instead he was laughing as Virgo, Lucy's newest celestial spirit, futilely attempted to preserve Lucy's dignity by holding her very short skirt down against the whipping wind. He was enjoying the show when Erza screeched to a halt next to their group and shouted, "Get in!"

Natsu sighed as the Fairy Tail mages got in and gingerly lifted himself into the cab of the four wheeler. All three mages had squished together on one side and had left the other for him. He gave them a gimlet eyed glare and then sat down. The vehicle lurched and then raced off, and Natsu felt himself wither under the stares of the Fairy Tail mages. The familiar nausea rose up and he broke out into a cold sweat, before collapsing against the side of the Four Wheeler and groaning. Slowly the Fairy Tail mages eyes widened, and then Mirajane burst out laughing, "You have motion sickness!"

Natsu glared at her, "Yes. Now kindly let me suffer in peace."

Gray smirked, "Who knew all it took to defeat the famous criminal was some transportation."

"Bite me, stripper."

Gray's brow quirked before he looked down at himself, "Ah! Where'd my shirt go?"

Natsu cackled but it was cut off by a particularly grisly sounding stomach movement and the fire mage had to clap a hand over his mouth to keep from vomiting. Lucy looked positively revolted, "Puke out the window if you're going to puke at all!"

Just then the Four Wheeler hit a bump and Natsu was pitched forward into the blonde's lap. She squealed and pushed him onto the floor where he lay groaning. Mirajane couldn't stop cackling and even Gray paused the search for his shirt to grin. Natsu only said, "Leave me where I am."

They continued in silence as the Four-Wheeler rattled forwards, clearly driving over train tracks from the rhythm of the staccato bumps beneath the tires. Mirajane seemed to be working herself up to another cutting remark when they all heard Erza shout, "I see him ahead! It looks like he didn't have the energy to fly all the way there!"

Natsu mumbled feebly, "No. He is probably saving his energy for a fight. Blurgh."

The vicious smile that Mirajane made would have scared a lesser man than Natsu, "Good. I wouldn't want to get bored. Then I might have to find somebody else to entertain me."

Gray paled and Lucy shivered. Natsu glanced at both of them, "Is she saying what I think she's saying."

Lucy replied in a fearful voice, "I don't know, but I don't want to find out."

Gray whispered, "It's true. She's not called the demon for nothing."

Mirajane's cackling was cut off when the Four Wheeler slid to a stop and Erza shouted, "Turn and face me Erigor! I will put a stop to this madness!"

The white haired mage smirked, "This I have to see."

The Fairy Tail mages all piled out of the Four Wheeler, while Natsu slowly dragged himself to the edge of the door and rolled himself out. He landed in a heap on the ground and turned over to watch the ensuing showdown between Erigor and the Fairy Tail mages. They'd caught up to Erigor at the end of a stone railroad bridge, where the forest ended at a large gorge. Erza stood at where the light brown of stone and dust met the dark brown of rich soil with her sword held high in a shaking hand, pointing at an airborne Erigor. The redhead looked exhausted, probably from pumping all of her magic power into the SE-plug for the Magic Four Wheeler, Natsu surmised. She still stood though, ready for a fight. Erigor stared down at the group before laughing, "They beat you Natsu? How pathetic! I should have let the council have you."

Natsu shrugged from his place on the ground before shouting back, "What can I say, the redhead has a mean right hook."

The Flame-make mage didn't see any harm in letting Erigor think he'd been defeated. He cared little for the man's opinion. Erigor looked ready to spew more vitriol but Erza spoke first, "We've caught you, Shinigami Erigor. Surrender! You cannot hope to beat all of us!"

In direct contravention of her statement, she dropped to a knee, gasping for breath. Erigor laughed, "Fairy Tail. Titania was the only real threat, but she's already worn out. A stripper, a coward, and a wanna-be goth won't be any challenge."

Natsu glanced at the remainder of the Fairy Tail party and had to agree with Erigor's outer assessment of them. Gray had lost his shirt and coat at some point between getting out of the Four Wheeler and the present, Lucy looked ready to bolt at any moment, and Mirajane's snow white hair contrasted with the goth look she was going for. Silence lapsed for a moment as the wind blew behind them over the gorge before Mira clenched a fist and let lose a concentrated burst of angry magic, "Just who the hell are you calling a wanna-be goth you freak!"

Erigor only laughed harder at her outrage. Mirajane strode with purpose towards Erza and said as she passed, "It looks like you've already blown your load, so just leave this punk to me."

Natsu saw Erza's shoulder stiffen minutely before she sagged to the ground, leaning back and balancing on her hands, "Fine. I'm sure you'll be a good warm up for him."

Natsu stood, motion sickness fading away, and brushed the dust off of himself before asking Gray, "I assume those two have a history?"

For a second Natsu could have sworn he saw a flash of fear in the dark haired man's eyes before he said impassively, "They've butted heads from the day they met. They compete with each other for everything."

Natsu nodded, having seen that kind of thing before, "I'm surprised they're o-"

He was interrupted by a shout of, " **Take Over: Satan Soul!** "

Dark purple magic blasted out of the white haired mage and an absolutely massive dark purple, almost black, magic circle appeared above her. She threw her head back and let out a shriek that slowly gained an unearthly timbre. Black wings and a tail coalesced out of magic and veins running thick with dark energy stood out on her snow white skin. Her goth clothes gave way to a revealing purple jumpsuit and purple thigh high boots. As the shriek petered out the magic running through her made her hair stand stand on end, the white strands waving and floating above her head from the sheer force of her magic.

For a moment Natsu was surprised by the transformation, but only a moment. It quickly turned to shock when she beat her wings and blasted into the air, catching Erigor with a shattering punch that threw him down the ground in a plume of dirt. The Flame-make mage thought for a moment she might have beaten him in one hit but it wasn't so, as Erigor rose out of cloud of dust and shouted, "You're strong! But nothing can penetrate my **Storm Mail!** "

As the man spoke a howling wind coalesced around him, and he flew towards Mirajane. The two started to exchange blows almost too fast for Natsu to see. Beside him, Lucy obviously couldn't keep up and said with awe, "They're both so strong!"

Natsu nodded, "They are."

He then held a hand up to his eye and covered it with his palm, whispering, " **Flame Make: Eye of Wisdom!** "

All three Fairy Tail mages looked at him and gasped when he pulled his palm away to show his eye was now an ethereal flame in its socket. He grimaced before fixing the flaming eye unerringly on the fighting mages. He took in everything they were doing for a few seconds before proclaiming, "Mirajane will win."

Gray immediately demanded, "How do you know?"

Natsu passed his palm over his eye and canceled the spell, his eye returning to normal, before saying, "I analysed their magic, and the way they're fighting. Erigor claims that nothing can pierce his **Storm Mail** , but after checking out Mirajane, I'd say she'll do it before he can cause her too much damage."

Erza had stood up during his explanation and said, "How did you come to that conclusion, and what was that spell you cast, it looked like it hurt you."

Natsu smiled and said cryptically, "A little pain, for a little wisdom."

The redhead glared, "Fine. Keep your secrets."

She turned her head back to watch the battle just in time to see Mirajane release a massive stream of dark energy that engulfed Erigor. Natsu nodded almost unconsciously and muttered to himself, "A large area attack to strip away his defence, before a quick follow up to finish him."

Erigor was blasted to the ground and sure enough Mirajane followed at top speed. A moment later a huge plume of dust was thrown into the air as both combatants impacted the ground. Lucy was straining her eyes and asked, "Can anyone see them? Who won?"

Her question was answered when a huge gust of wind blew away the dust and Mirajane was thrown away from Erigor, who stood uninjured with his **Storm Mail** swirling around him. Natsu smirked, "It's not over yet. She wasn't fast enough."

Gray took his eyes off the fight for a moment to ask, "You said that earlier, what do you mean she wasn't fast enough."

Natsu glanced at all three of the mages around him. Lucy and Gray looked confused while Erza had a contemplative look on her face. The pink haired mage nodded to himself before speaking, "It looks like Erza's figured it out, and Mirajane figured it out within a few moments of the fight. Why don't you enlighten your guild mates Red."

The armoured woman gave him a dirty look before saying, "It's really quite simple. Erigor's **Storm Mail** is a nearly impenetrable defence. Most attacks will be redirected away from Erigor, or will fizzle out when they come in contact with the **Storm Mail**. However, if a mage of sufficient power were to use an attack that completely engulfs Erigor, then the **Storm Mail** would be stripped away as the two spells cancel each other out. This leaves a split second where Erigor is exposed before he re-casts his defence."

Lucy looked very impressed, "Wow! I never would have even noticed something like that!"

Gray only scoffed, "I would have figured it out."

Erza nodded, agreeing with him, "Yes, but an attack of that caliber would leave you drained. Of course, your magic is physically based like mine but very few of your **Ice-Make** spells would have the power to crush him while inside of his **Storm Mail**."

Natsu glanced at Gray as the smirk on his face turned feral, "Another **Maker** mage? And **Ice-Make** at that. I wonder, would my flames melt your ice? Or would your ice freeze my flames."

Gray tried to exclaim something, mouth opened wide and hands akimbo, but Erza cut him off and stated in her blunt style, "Natsu would most likely win a duel between the two of you. Natsu is an S-ranked mage by the Magic Council's own decree and has more experience fighting other mages than Gray does. Gray may be near Natsu's power levels but the difference in experience would soon show during any battle and Natsu would gain the upper hand."

Gray grumbled, "You didn't have to be so harsh."

Natsu folded his arms and turned back to the battle between the Shinigami and Fairy Tail's Demon. In the half a minute he'd glanced away to talk to the Fairy Tail mages Mirajane and Erigor had exchanged brutal hits on each other. Erigor was being cagey, not letting Mirajane get in position to launch another massive attack that would cripple his defences. Mirajane was circling him like a predator, darting to land a strike against Erigor in an attempt to maneuver him around to her liking. Suddenly, she beat her wings and flew up over Erigor before calling out, " **Darkness Stream!** "

A large magic seal spun into existence before her outstretched hands and huge tendrils of dark magic flowed out of them. Vaguely shaped like hands, they attempted to grapple Erigor but he swiftly evaded them. The problem for the Dark Guild Ace was that he was being forced downwards. Mirajane's spell prevented him from dodging side to side and he was forced to land. All the while, Mirajane had been forming a black orb of power that, when Erigor was finally corralled into position, shot forth and impacted him. An absolutely massive explosion of dark energy engulfed Erigor, and even from a hundred feet away tendrils of dark power pushed Natsu and the Fairy Tail mages back. Natsu held up his arms to shield his face, and when he lowered them a few moments later it was all over. Mirajane stood with her foot digging cruelly into Erigor's back and a smirk on her face.

Natsu smirked, "I told you."

Erza rolled her eyes, "Any mage of sufficient experience could have told you the likely outcome of the fight. Your prediction isn't impressive."

The pink haired mage scoffed and then started strolling towards where Mirajane was standing over Erigor, "You're just mad you were too gassed to fight. Don't worry, you'll get more than you bargained for when you and I fight."

He ignored her response, whatever it was, and called out to Mirajane as he approached, "Took you long enough."

He got close enough to hear Erigor's pained and shallow breathing before she replied, "I like to play with my food."

She dug her heel cruelly into Erigor's back again and Natsu could only reply dryly, "You don't say?"

The Fairy Tail mage let her take-over transformation fade and in a flash of dark light she was once again dressed in her goth outfit and the pressure of her magic let up. The flash illuminated a shadow on the ground that turned out to be **Lullaby** , the flute having fallen from Erigor's pocket as he was defeated. Natsu picked it up and examined it, "Well, isn't this a shiny toy."

One end was shaped like a miniature skull, with three eyes and a grinning wooden mouth. Small holes dotted the length of it, after all it was a flute, and the end had six small stems that stuck out. He twirled it around his fingers murmuring, "Such a small thing. But so dangerous."

"Stop! Hand that over!"

Natsu glanced warily at Erza, who'd made her way over along with Gray and Lucy, and was now pointing a sword at him, "Hand that over! A criminal such as yourself should never have possession of such a dangerous artifact!"

Rolling his eyes, Natsu tossed the flute at the mage who was threatening him, "I'm innocent, remember?"

Erza had the grace to blush, "Ah, yes. Well."

She coughed and then continued, "Let's go then. Gray, Mirajane, tie up Erigor and we'll bring him along. We're close to Clover Town now so we might as well head to the Guild Master's meeting."

Instead of tying up the defeated Shinigami, Mirajane kicked him in the head, rendering him unconscious. She smiled sweetly, "That was much easier."

Erza shrugged before turning and walking back to the Four-Wheeler. Mirajane followed with a parting shot, "I did all the work taking him down, one of you can carry him."

Naruto glanced at Gray and Lucy before also turning away, "I don't care."

He heard a shriek over his shoulder, "Oh no! I am a Lady! I am not carrying some thug!"

There was a gust of wind as Lucy shot past him and jumped into the Four-Wheeler.

* * *

The two hour ride to Clover was not fun for Natsu. He spent most of it leaning against one corner of the cabin trying not to puke. The less said about it the better.

The sun had long set when they arrived at the Guild Master's meeting hall on the outskirts of Clover town. Erza parked the Four-Wheeler near the meeting hall and everybody scrambled out, with the exception of Erigor. Mirajane had spent the ride slugging him in the face whenever he showed signs of consciousness. Natsu let himself again drop to the ground as he fought to control the raging nausea that afflicted him. It took him a few moments to quell it but he eventually stood back up and slunk over to where the Fairy Tail mages were talking animatedly with who looked to be their guild master and the other guild masters who had been at the meeting. He wandered into earshot in time to hear Erza say, "Master, we did pick somebody extra up on the way here."

The tiny old man who Erza had referred to as Master glanced over at him and said in high baritone voice, "Oh? And who is this?"

The redheaded mage continued, "This is Natsu Dragneel."

The tiny Master stroked his rather impressive mustache and was silent for a moment before asking, "The Living Flame?"

Natsu grinned, he truly loved his moniker, "The one and only."

Another man, this one tall and skinny wearing black clothes, a pointed hat with a dog-collar wrapped around the brim, and dark sunglasses said, "Aren't you a criminal or something?"

Natsu waved him off nonchalantly, "Nah. I was framed."

The tiny one who seemed to be Fairy Tail's guild master stepped forward with a bright grin and a hand outstretched, "Oh! Well in that case it's good to meet you. I'm Makarov Dreyar, Fairy Tail's Master."

Natsu held out his hand with a smile of his own but before he could properly introduce himself Makarov's hand made a fist and his arm elongated. Swinging around like rubber the arm went up and a fist came down on top of Natsu's head as the tiny man barked, "What do you think I am? An idiot? Every criminal say's they're framed!"

Lucy gasped, Mirajane laughed, and Erza sighed before reprimanding, "Master, I do think he is innocent."

Makarov eyed her warily, "Oh? You're not usually taken in by some criminal's story."

She nodded, "Of course not. But, Natsu could have fought and impeded us greatly. If he had we would not have been able to catch up to Erigor and take him down. We were able to persuade him to let us pass, to prove that he is innocent."

The tiny but powerful man glanced back at Natsu, "Is this true?"

Natsu shrugged, "I guess. I was just using Eisenwald as a place to hide from the council. The Rune Knights are persistent."

"Ah. Well. In that case let me apo-"

" **You Fools!** "

Everyone was startled by the booming voice that erupted in their midst. The entire group looked wildly around before the voice roared out again, " **I tire of your puny babble! The fools that wielded me have been weak so I must feast for myself!** "

There was a roaring wind and crash of thunder as Natsu caught a glimpse of the Lullaby flute emanating an evil purple light. It had been clutched in Erza's hand but now it floated above them. He had to shield his eyes as with a blinding and deafening blast of magic Lullaby transformed. When Natsu uncovered his eyes he took in the Demons new appearance. It appeared to be made of the same dark wood as the flute, with its bulky top half and lower legs connected by a gruesome facsimile of vertical wooden ribs. Twin horns spiraled upwards above glowing purple eyes as the Demon finished its statement, " **Feast on your souls that is!** "

There were exclamations of surprise from the group, and curses from some of the older Masters. Lucy screamed, "What is that thing!"

The demon roared its defiance and a huge magic circle appeared near its mouth, as if it was gathering magic for a massive spell. Master Goldmine, the man with the sunglasses, said loudly over the demons din, "It's a demon from the Book of Zeref! A piece of living magic, one of his specialties!"

The blonde whimpered, "What are we going to do."

Erza stepped forwards, towards the demon, and stated confidently, "We fight of course!"

Mirajane followed with a devilish grin on her face, "I'll show this overgrown plant what a real demon is."

Gray slammed a fist into his palm determinedly, "I can't let you two do all the fighting and show me up!"

Their redheaded leader nodded sharply, "Then let's go!"

The trio of Fairy Tail mages charged towards the Lullaby demon. The force of the magic that the three exuded came crashing down in waves over Natsu but it was not enough to make him bow his head, only inhale sharply in surprise. Dark purple magic oozed out of the white-haired Fairy Tail mage while a bright light wrapped around the scarlet haired one. A moment later both shot into the air and towards Lullaby, Mirajane in her **Satan Soul** transformation and Erza clad in her Heaven's Wheel armor. Below them icy blue light exuded from around Gray as the Ice-Make mage launched a preemptive strike, calling out, " **Ice-Make: Lance!** "

Tendrils of ice shot forth and impacted the raging demon staggering it and exposing it for the follow up attacks of the two mages flying towards it through the air. Erza's twin swords carved a huge slice through the side of the demon while Mirajane used her demonically empowered strength to physically rip one of the horns from Lullaby's head. The monster roared in agony and wildly swiped at the mages. The women in the air adroitly dodged while Gray had to scramble backwards to avoid the debris and trees that were being thrown up around him by the demons wild the demon let out a booming laugh and threw back its head, an absolutely massive magic circle forming over it's mouth. Strong winds began to buffet Natsu and the rest of the bystanders as it was drawn towards the demon. It screamed out, " **It's time to dine on your souls!** "

There was a huge pulse of magic and Natsu braced himself to withstand whatever attack was coming, except nothing but a shrill shriek sounded through the air. Everyone was caught off guard, especially Lullaby, as the demon stuttered, " **W-what? My beautiful sound!** "

Natsu laughed as it clicked in his brain, "Lullaby's demon form is just a larger version of its sealed state. It's still just a big flute! It's magic works by drawing in air, running it through its body and infusing it with death magic, and then releasing it as sound waves. When those three attacked it they must have messed up the passageways and air holes that made its ultimate attack work!"

Beside him Lucy sighed, "I was so scared, but that was so lame."

Lullaby roared with renewed rage and swung suddenly at Mirajane, who still had hold of the massive horn she'd torn off of its head. The punch connected and she went crashing to the ground. It then reared its head back and released a jet of magic that struck near Natsu and the crowd of Guild Masters and bystanders. Natsu quickly raised his hands, ready to corral the flames that resulted from the explosion but it wasn't necessary.

" **Ice Make; Shield!** "

A half dome of ice appeared in front of the crowd, shielding them from the fire and forcing it away. Natsu growled under his breath, "This is getting dangerous."

The Flame Make mage held both hands out to the sides and released tendrils of magic from them that drew the flames towards him where they coalesced into tiny raging infernos in the palms of his hands. The Ice Shield in front of him dissolved as he took a few steps forward to get out of the crowd and shouted up at the demon, "Thanks for the flames!"

He slammed his hands together, combining the flames as they started to swirl angrily. He again threw his hands out wide, but this time he shaped the flames with his magic and they coalesced into a large spear, its head a blazing inferno of fire. Natsu cocked his arm behind him and took a few running steps before suddenly heaving his weapon at the demon with a shout, " **Flame Make: Gungnir, Odin's Spear!** "

The fiery missile flew forward and bored through Lullaby's chest. Halfway through it exploded, engulfing the demon in a madly swirling column of white hot flames. The flames swirled unabated and lit up the night as Gray stepped up to Natsu's side and said dryly, "We had it under control, showoff."

Natsu grinned viciously, "I just wanted to give Titania a taste of what she's up against."

Gray scoffed, "You haven't seen anything from her either."

Natsu ignored his remark, instead watching as his flames dissipated and Lullaby was again revealed. Burns covered every inch of it and it was missing half of its left arm as well as the remaining horn on its head. It twitched and then let out another massive roar of pain. Lullaby screeched its defiance, " **You will never win! I will eat your souls!** "

Natsu growled angrily, "Damn, that didn't take it down!"

He was going to begin another spell but was interrupted, " **Requip: Black Wing Armor!** "

The Flame-Make mage jerked his around to see Erza flying in from the side, this time wearing black armor with silver trim. Dark wings were carrying her towards the demon at an incredible speed. With an incredible shout of effort she cleaved through the demon with her sword. Lullaby froze for a moment before its top half started to slide off of its bottom. The demons defeat caused it's magic to implode and a great pillar of light surrounded it and shot upwards as the demonic magic escaped into the sky. A few moments later it dissipated, and nothing was left of the demon Lullaby.

There was some cheering behind Natsu and Gray as the latter turned to the former and said with a smirk on his face, "Told you."

Natsu scoffed, "Tch. I weakened it for her."

The dark haired mage laughed, "Yeah. You can believe that if you want."

He turned and made his way back towards the group of Guild Masters and after a few moments of watching the scattered magic of Lullaby dissipate into thin air, Natsu followed. He joined the group and there was silence as all of the Guild Masters sent an assessing look his way before Makarov spoke, "That was a powerful attack you used Natsu."

Natsu shrugged but was inwardly pleased, "I try to only use **Gungnir** as a finisher because it uses so much magic but I didn't have to generate the flames, only shape them, so it really cut down on the drain."

Mirajane, who had reverted back to her goth clothes and was still carrying the horn of Lullaby that she'd torn off, walked up to the group in time to hear his comment and snorted, "Yeah well. You didn't really finish him off with that did you?"

Natsu growled, "Are you trying to start something you goth-wannabe? It only took one hit to take you out."

The Takeover mage was about to respond angrily when Makarov laughed and made soothing gestures with his hands, "Now now children. Calm down. You all contributed and you all did well."

Natsu couldn't help but roll his eyes but he backed down. Mirajane scoffed but also backed down. It was then that Erza rejoined the group, reclad in her Heart-Kreuz armor and skirt. Makarov smiled at her, "Excellent job Erza."

She bowed and said humbly, "Thank you Master. But I did not defeat it alone, Gray and Mirajane weakened it and Natsu's attack allowed me to finish it off."

Natsu rolled his eyes and said, "Whatever, now Titania, I think it's time. That little skirmish got my blood pumping and I'm ready to kick your ass."

Makarov's eyes widened minutely, "Oh? What's this about?"

Lucy, who'd been quiet, spoke up now, "Well, at the train station Natsu really wanted to fight Erza and only let us pass because Erza promised that she would fight him later."

Natsu grinned, "Yep. Now I'm ready to torch her."

Erza growled back, her competitive nature showing through slightly, "Whenever you're ready, I am!"

The two were inching towards each other, their bodies tensing in preparation for impending violence when there was a shout from off in the distance, "Oi. The Guild Meeting hall is gone! Those Fairy Tail mages wrecked it!"

The group froze for a moment before Makarov burst into dramatic tears, "No! I just got through paying off the debts from the last time Mirajane went on a rampage."

The white-haired mage actually looked sheepish for a moment and there was a beat of silence before Gray suggested, "Maybe we should get out of here before they try and catch us."

There was a rumble of agreement from all of the Fairy Tail mages and Lucy wailed, "I'm too pretty to go to jail! And I didn't even destroy anything!"

All of them turned and dashed away except for Erza who turned to Natsu, "You still want to fight right?"

Natsu could only nod, still bemused by what he'd just seen, and the redhead said, "Well then come on! If they catch us that won't happen."

She turned and dashed away as well and Natsu could only laugh, saying quietly to himself, "I think I'm starting to like these guys."

He too dashed after them and the light of dozens of torches and the sound of angry voices faded away as he followed the Fairy Tail mages, unknowingly stepping onto the path to his destiny.


End file.
